The beautiful and eye-catching boat chapel in the middle of the water at Wat Thung Siat, Surat Thani Province, is ranked as one of the top 5 most beautiful in the country. It is the place where the relics of the Lord Buddha are enshrined, which is believed to have come here on his own.
This is a boat chapel in the middle of the water at Wat Tung Siead, Tambon Tha Rong Chang, Amphoe Phunphin, Surat Thani Province, which is one of the five most beautiful boat chapels in Thailand. It is in the Srivijaya architectural style, built from the faith of Buddhists from all directions. In the center is a large chapel with the principal Buddha image of the temple, surrounded by the Chatu Thep pavilion and various arhat statues. At the entrance to the chapel are statues of four nagas and elephants, the animals of merit and virtue of Phor Than Siead, the first abbot of Wat Tung Siead. At the back is the ‘Phra That Chedi Navasriwichai,’ a replica of the Phra Borommathat Chaiya Ratchaworawihan in Surat Thani Province. It wa
s built in 2013 to enshrine the relics of the sun and moon, along with relics received from nine supreme patriarchs and many more received from India.
Phra Khru Sarasotthikhun, the abbot of Wat Thung Siat, told the story of the origin of the Buddha’s relics of the Sun and Moon. He had heard stories of the Buddha’s relics coming by themselves, but believed them only 50 percent. Then, on September 3, 2005, a miraculous event occurred. In the early morning, as he was about to wake up to do his morning prayers, he heard a sound in his ear like something falling softly. When he woke up and used a flashlight, he found a small, round, shiny glass crystal about 1.5 centimeters in diameter. He wondered how it got there because the monk’s quarters were closed, so he kept them.
At the same time, the villagers reported that in the early morning, they saw a strange light at the temple, like a yellow light and a fireball shooting up. They believed that this small crystal was the relic of the Buddha or the relics of the L
ord Buddha that came by itself. Later, this phenomenon occurred again on September 16, 2006. That time, there was a sound like a small object falling as before. When they used a flashlight to search, they found a glass crystal of similar size falling in the room. The villagers outside the temple said that they saw a soft white light, so they named the first relic Phra Suriyan and the second Phra Chanthra. They are currently enshrined in the ‘Phra That Chedi Navasriwichai’ together with the relics that people donated and came by themselves, totaling more than 100 relics. Those interested can come to pay homage and see the beauty of the chapel in the middle of the water of Wat Thung Siat.
Source: Thai News Agency